To increase its capacity for the forthcoming peak travel season, Lufthansa may buy six more Airbus A350-900s that were previously used by other airlines, such as LATAM and South African Airlines.
According to data from planespotters.net, the six Airbus 350-900 aircraft with the registrations N285BN, N286BN, N287BN, N264AR, OE-IPX, and OE-IPK are scheduled to arrive at the German carrier.
Previous owners of the N285BN, N286BN, N287BN, and N264AR were LATAM Airlines Brazil, a division of the LATAM Airlines Group.
Data from ch-aviation.com indicates that all four ex-LATAM Airlines Brazil A350s are now owned by Deucalion Aviation and left the carrier’s fleet sometime in 2021.
The aircraft were delivered to LATAM Airlines Brazil in May 2016, August 2016, December 2016, and December 2019, respectively. They are now registered as N285BN, N286BN, N287BN, and N264AR.
The last airline to fly OE-IPX and OE-IPK was South African Airlines. According to statistics from ch-aviation.com, both Airbus A350-900s that were retired from the South African airline’s fleet in 2020 are owned by Avolon.
Previous to that, Hainan Airlines operated both for just nine months, from January to October 2019, using the aircraft.
In the event that the transaction proceeds, it won’t be the first time that Lufthansa has added used Airbus A350-900s to its fleet.
According to the airline’s 2022 annual report, since “many airlines cancelled orders at short notice and terminated leases ahead of schedule” during the pandemic, the market had “an increased range of modern aircraft available at attractive conditions and subject to short delivery periods”.
As such, Lufthansa welcomed five Boeing 787-9 from a canceled order and four Airbus A350-900s from a lease that was terminated early.
“These orders benefited from favourable purchase prices and low lease rates as well as short delivery times. All four A350-900 aircraft were delivered in the first six months of 2022, while two 787-9s were delivered in the second half of 2022,” the report continued.
ch-aviation.com data indicates that all four Airbus A350-900s received by Lufthansa in H1 2022 were formerly owned by Philippines Airlines.
